From July to August every year, it is hot and rainy, which happens to be the season when the growth of wild fungi is vigorous. Recently, short video bloggers have repeatedly posted videos of wild mushrooms suspected of being poisoned, such as eating raw "Jian Shou Qing", which has sparked heated discussions among netizens. And an interesting story shared by Internet tycoon Zhou Hongyi - the short video of "eating fungus and seeing the dog talking to himself", has added some heat to the topic of how to eat fungus safely. Why do you have hallucinations when eating mushrooms? Can delicious mushrooms be eaten raw? Why not recommend eating raw mushrooms? According to a search by a reporter from China Consumer Daily, several bloggers have recently posted videos of eating raw mushrooms, and even demonstrated how to eat them raw. Huang Chenyang, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Agricultural Regionalization of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Deputy Chief Expert of the National Edible Fungi Industry Technology System, introduced in an interview with the China Consumer News that "Jian Shouqing" is named after the fact that touching it with your hand can turn it green (blue). Boletus mushrooms that are injured and turn blue (blue) are not just "one type", but "one type". Some types can be consumed under the premise of paying attention to cooking methods, but there are also a few types that are highly toxic, often leading to gastroenteritis type poisoning or neuropsychiatric poisoning, and must not be consumed. In the past, many people believed that eating "see your hands green" was okay. If you had diarrhea, feel the magical little person. In fact, severe poisoning can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, dehydration, and even endanger life. In addition, there is also the well-known red onion (Boletus edulis), although its toxin is not yet known, as a frequent guest on the dining table, improper cooking has also caused multiple incidents of hallucinations and auditory hallucinations. From a food safety perspective, it is not recommended to eat most edible mushrooms raw. Huang Chenyang explained that even artificially cultivated edible mushrooms need to be cooked at high temperatures for a long time, and eating them raw may cause a series of adverse reactions. Taking black fungus as an example, fresh fungus contains a photosensitive substance called porphyrin. After consuming fresh fungus, the human body is prone to sunburn induced dermatitis, resulting in skin redness, swelling, itching, and pain symptoms under the action of sunlight. As for the online rumor that Zhou Hongyi saw a conversation between a dog and himself after eating the fungus, it was mostly due to insufficient heating and insufficient destruction of certain hallucinogenic substances, leading to hallucinations. Huang Chenyang suggests that edible mushrooms should be cooked before consumption, as it can kill bacteria or destroy other toxic substances, as well as enhance flavor and taste. Many types of edible mushrooms, such as shiitake mushrooms and deer antler mushrooms, have a better flavor in dried products than in fresh ones. Taking shiitake mushrooms as an example, their fresh taste mainly comes from amino acids such as glutamic acid or aspartic acid, as well as flavor nucleotides such as guanosine. Drying or drying fresh shiitake mushrooms can increase their content of free amino acids and organic acids. Therefore, the aroma and freshness of dried shiitake mushrooms far surpass those of fresh shiitake mushrooms. Is eating raw mushroom sashimi reliable? "In foreign countries, it is common to eat raw agaricus bisporus mushrooms. Cutting small mushrooms into thin slices and adding a few drops of lemon juice is the delicious and nutritious mushroom sashimi..." According to a search by a reporter from China Consumer Daily, there are many "food recommendations" online similar to eating raw mushrooms. Since most edible mushrooms are not recommended to be eaten raw, is eating raw mushroom sashimi reliable? Huang Chenyang's analysis suggests that currently, the reliability of online recommended edible mushroom sashimi mainly depends on whether three conditions are met: first, whether the edible mushroom used to make sashimi belongs to the category that can be eaten raw. Not all edible mushrooms can be used to make sashimi. Common wild mushrooms used to make sashimi include matsutake and truffles (truffles); Artificially cultivated mushrooms include long rooted mushrooms (trade name black skinned chicken fir, actually unrelated to chicken fir, slim figure, similar to chicken fir), large ball cap mushrooms (trade name red pine mushroom, actually unrelated to matsutake, just like matsutake in childhood), split pleated mushrooms (known as white ginseng in Yunnan), double spore mushrooms, and elm yellow mushrooms. The second is whether the cultivation environment and products are fresh. Edible mushrooms cultivated in open environments such as agricultural greenhouses may have hygiene issues such as insect eggs if not properly managed, and it is not recommended to eat them raw. Edible mushrooms produced in factories, cultivated in a relatively enclosed and controllable environment, are a type that can be tasted in small quantities and eaten raw. The third is whether the processing is reliable. Eating edible mushroom sashimi must be done in a restaurant with sufficient processing conditions and undergo extremely fine cleaning and treatment. Huang Chenyang reminds consumers that it is not recommended to eat too much mushroom sashimi. Generally, 3 to 5 pieces should be eaten raw. Meanwhile, in recent years, most of the popular edible mushroom sashimi are actually blanched, such as golden ear sashimi, jade wood ear sashimi, pink wood ear sashimi, etc. It should be emphasized that regardless of the cultivation method of edible mushrooms, it is generally not recommended for home made sashimi consumption. Firstly, most people lack sufficient discrimination ability for the types of edible mushrooms, especially for edible mushrooms sold in supermarkets where the labeled product names are confusing rather than species names, such as ecological matsutake and hazelnut matsutake; Secondly, it is difficult to accurately distinguish the cultivation methods of edible mushrooms; Thirdly, the edible mushrooms circulating in the market are rich in nutrients. If they are stored and transported at room temperature for a long time after harvesting, a large number of bacteria can easily grow on the surface. Eating them raw may bring serious food safety risks. Artificial mushrooms are safer. Summer is the peak season for harvesting wild mushrooms, and it is also a season for many people to travel and explore delicious food. Many people are enthusiastic about collecting delicious wild mushrooms in the mountains and forests while playing, and there are even those who are bold in trying them out. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between poisonous mushrooms and edible mushrooms, incidents of poisoning caused by mistakenly picking and eating poisonous mushrooms are not uncommon. According to the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, from 2010 to 2020, China reported 10036 incidents of mushroom poisoning, 38676 people poisoned, and 788 deaths; The number of people poisoned accounts for 31.8% of the total number of people poisoned by food, and the number of deaths caused by poisoning accounts for 47.44% of the total number of deaths caused by food poisoning. The high incidence season of mushroom poisoning incidents is from May to October. During this period, 94.1% of mushroom poisoning incidents occurred, 92.4% were poisoned, and 97.2% were killed. The peak period is from July to August. At present, there are about 660 reported species of poisonous mushrooms in China, and the main types of poisonous mushrooms that cause death are those containing goose paste toxins and the subspecies pleated red mushrooms. According to statistics, over 70% of poisoning deaths caused by poisonous mushrooms are caused by poisonous mushrooms belonging to the genus Amanita. Boletus poisoning accounts for more than half of the annual wild mushroom poisoning incidents in Yunnan Province. Huang Chenyang emphasized that there is currently no gold standard for quickly identifying poisonous mushrooms, and even experienced collectors may misjudge due to their similar appearance. The best way to stay away from fungal poisoning is to choose artificially cultivated edible mushrooms or recognizable species. In the wild, whether eaten raw or cooked, do not eat unfamiliar wild mushrooms. At present, China has discovered more than 1000 edible mushrooms that can be eaten, over 100 types that can be cultivated, and more than 30 types commonly seen in the market, such as shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, straw mushrooms, golden needle mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. These edible mushrooms not only have a delicious taste, but also have high nutritional value, rich in multiple amino acids and trace elements. People can choose safe and delicious edible mushrooms from regular supermarkets or specialty agricultural product stores. (Lai Xin She)